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	$11.45 Million Awarded in N.Y. Church Abuse Case By Bruce Lambert and Maria Newman New York Times [Mineola] May 18, 2007 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/nyregion/18cnd-church.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin A jury in State Supreme Court in Nassau County today awarded $11.45 million to two people who said they had been abused by the youth minister at a Roman Catholic church on Long Island during the 1990s. The award, one of the largest awarded to victims of abuse at the hands of church laity, came at the end of a three-week trial. The six-person jury deliberated for seven days. The suit was filed against Matthew Maiello, who was the youth minister and rock Mass director at St. Raphael's Parish in East Meadow in the 1990s; against the parish and its pastor; and against the Diocese of Rockville Centre, which includes Nassau and Suffolk counties. Mr. Maiello pleaded guilty in 2003 to criminal charges of rape and sodomy four minors, and was sentenced to two years in prison. Two of those victims then filed a civil lawsuit against all of the parties, including Mr. Maiello, seeking $150 million. In its decision today, the jury said they found Mr. Maiello bore 70 percent of the responsibility for the crimes, and said that 30 percent of the blame lay with the church, its leaders and the diocese, for failing to protect the victims. Mr. Maiello, 33, who has few assets, did not contest the lawsuit. The victims said that the other defendants ignored warnings about him and were negligent in hiring and supervising him. But the other defendants said Mr. Maiello was solely to blame and that they were unaware of his actions, and therefore not liable. During the trial, defense lawyers argued that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that there were any significant warnings of the crimes, and especially that they had failed to show any involvement by the diocese, the wealthiest of the defendant
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